Department of Blood Transfusion, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510180, China; Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Precise Transfusion, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510180, China.
Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510440, China.
Acta Trop. 2022 Feb;226:106232. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106232. Epub 2021 Nov 18.
Circulating factors in the circulatory system support important functions of living tissues and the body. Parabiosis is a condition in which two living animals are connected using surgical methods and share a single circulatory system. Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the major cause of infectious eosinophilic meningitis, which causes severe damage to the central nervous system (CNS) and immune system. However, the mechanism of immunopathology remains largely unknown. We hypothesize that a restored humoral environment can help relieve damage to the CNS and immune system. In the present study, we found that administration of normal serum significantly reduced mortality, alleviated thymic atrophy and reduced inflammation in the brains of mice infected with A. cantonensis. We further generated parabiotic pairs between two healthy mice, one of which was then orally infected with A. cantonensis. The results showed that compared with singleton mice, mice connected with a healthy parabiotic partner were protected against CNS and immune system damage, as revealed by significantly reduced inflammation in the brain, alleviated thymic atrophy, and decreased expression of proinflammatory cytokines. These findings revealed that a healthy systemic environment can relieve damage to the CNS and immune system in infected mice, suggesting novel therapeutic approaches for diseases involving severe brain and immune system damage.
循环系统中的循环因子支持着活组织和身体的重要功能。联体共生是指通过手术方法将两只活体动物连接起来并共享一个单一的循环系统的情况。广州管圆线虫是引起传染性嗜酸性粒细胞性脑膜炎的主要原因，它会对中枢神经系统 (CNS) 和免疫系统造成严重损害。然而，免疫病理学的机制在很大程度上仍不清楚。我们假设恢复的体液环境有助于减轻对中枢神经系统和免疫系统的损害。在本研究中，我们发现给予正常血清可显著降低感染广州管圆线虫的小鼠的死亡率，减轻胸腺萎缩并减轻大脑中的炎症。我们进一步在两只健康小鼠之间产生联体共生对，其中一只经口感染广州管圆线虫。结果表明，与单只小鼠相比，与健康联体共生伙伴相连的小鼠可免受中枢神经系统和免疫系统损伤，表现为大脑中的炎症明显减轻，胸腺萎缩减轻，促炎细胞因子的表达减少。这些发现表明，健康的全身环境可以减轻感染小鼠中枢神经系统和免疫系统的损伤，为涉及严重脑和免疫系统损伤的疾病提供了新的治疗方法。
